May that he was so glad he made the right choice and decided not to pursue Baylor.Benjamin pledged to Iowa i

FRISCO, Texas -- Dak Prescott shrugs at the suggestion that the Dallas rookie quarterbacks startling success in two preseason games is a product of what skeptics might call the vanilla defenses of the exhibition season.Thats on them if they want to throw `vanilla or whatever they want to throw at me, `Rocky Road, or whatever you want to say, the 23-year-old former Mississippi State standout said. I just go out there and just try to concentrate on our game plan and go put out my best.Prescott has a preseason NFL-high 158.3 passer rating with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a pair of rushing TDs, giving the Cowboys plenty to think about for a backup to Tony Romo after incumbent Kellen Moore broke his right ankle early in training camp.Executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said the day after Moores injury that the Cowboys wanted a veteran in the room with Romo.The No. 3 quarterback is second-year player Jameill Showers, who spent most of last season on the practice squad.Jones stops short of indicating he might have changed his mind. But his dad, owner and general manager Jerry Jones, sounds ready to commit to Prescott.You would have to say that the more reps these young guys are getting then the better it is for the team, the better it is for their evaluation or their progression, Jerry Jones said after Prescott threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 41-14 preseason win over Miami.If you weigh all of that, the logic goes toward youre in better shape today to go with them than you were three weeks ago. And I would say we are.Prescott likely gets his best test yet Thursday night at Seattle, where he figures to play most, if not all, of the second half. Romo should get the bulk of the first half in what will be his longest preseason outing.The backup job in Dallas is an important topic because Romo missed 12 games last season with a twice-broken left collarbone. The Cowboys went 1-11 without the 36-year-old during a first-to-worst 4-12 season in the NFC East.Dallas declined to bring in another veteran to supplant Moore, suggesting he showed enough in two-plus games last season to be a viable backup.After Moores injury, Prescott showed the same qualities the Cowboys say they saw the moment he arrived as a fourth-round pick, the first quarterback drafted by Dallas since 2009.Anytime you see a rookie come in and have the production hes had, its surprising I think by any rookie, Stephen Jones said.But in terms of from the day hes walked in the door, hes shown a lot of unique intangibles, I think rare intangibles, in terms of his leadership, his people skills, his ability to lead.Getting the start in the preseason opener at the Los Angeles Rams -- the first game in LA in more than 20 years -- Prescott directed scoring drives on three of four possessions to help the Cowboys build a 24-7 lead.Prescott completed his first eight passes the next weekend against the Dolphins and is 22 of 27 for 338 yards through two games.Seeing him in the game is just an extension of what weve seen in practice, linebacker Sean Lee said.The more I get to know him, theres a reason why hes been so successful in college and why hes played so well. Hes got that personality where hes constantly trying to learn.In perhaps his biggest achievement so far, Prescott has reporters asking him how he has made it look so easy.I dont think easys the right word, said Prescott, who joined Tim Tebow as the only SEC quarterbacks with at least 70 touchdowns passing and 40 rushing in a career.Ive got great veterans, great coaches, who are putting me in great position to have success. Im thankful for that. But its a lot of hard work that goes into this.Prescott talks frequently of his own high expectations, which would seem an automatic rejection of the notion that hes surprising even himself. But hes willing to concede ever so slightly.You never really think youll come in and have a QB rating like this, but youre going to try your damnedest to do that, Prescott said. Im just going to continue to do that each day at practice and in the games as well.This time next month, Prescott could be another Romo injury away from seeing how he handles the real thing.---Online:AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler Jamal Adams Jersey Authentic . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Jamal Adams White Jets Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. http://www.jetsofficialsshop.com/ . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. New Jets Jerseys 2019 . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Jamal Adams Jets Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. Five months after the firing of Art Briles at Baylor, the football program hardly registers on the recruiting radar.Local prospects visit Baylor to examine opposing Big 12 teams. Assistant coaches at the school are not active in pursuing coveted recruits. Baylor has collected just two commitments for its 2017 class -- none since July -- and even those are tenuous.According to acting coach Jim Grobe, theres plenty of time for the Bears recruiting to rebound.There will be a lot of kids who want to come to Baylor, Grobe said this week, but they want to see whos going to be their coach. As soon as that happens, there will be a lot of kids jumping in the boat.Briles was fired on May 26, and after collateral effects from the widely publicized sexual-assault scandal included the summer departures of more than half of the signed members of Baylors 17th-ranked recruiting class from February, Grobe and his staff of former Briles assistants are stuck in neutral in the push toward national signing day in February.I wish I had a better word for weird, said Jeff Hulme, coach at Waco Midway High School. Its a strange deal and not a good situation for the future of Baylor football, thats for sure.Recruiting, by comparison, pales in importance to Baylors on-field product, though it remains the logical next step.The Bears slipped from the top tier of College Football Playoff contenders with a 35-34 loss last Saturday at Texas. Soon, Baylor, 38-8 since 2013, figures to look past Grobe to a permanent head coach, presumably installed by first-year athletic director Mack Rhoades in early December.Like Grobe, the current assistants, tied to Briles and the negligence allegations that led to his departure, appear unlikely to stay.In the meantime, how are they supposed to recruit to Baylor? Well, apparently, they arent.Its like theyre not even trying anymore, a Big 12 assistant coach said. I havent talked to a single kid that mentions Baylor -- not a one -- and thats crazy to say, because weve always gone after the same type of athletes and recruited in the same areas in Texas.Grobe and his staff are far from the first set of coaches to face this situation.John L. Smith at Arkansas served as interim coach in 2012 after the spring firing of Bobby Petrino. The Razorbacks finished 4-8, but continued to recruit and signed a class that ranked 31st nationally under Bret Bielema in February 2013 that featured long-committed quarterback Austin Allen.One year earlier, Ohio State promoted Luke Fickell to interim coach after Jim Tressel resigned. More than half of the Buckeyes sixth-ranked Class of 2013 committed before Urban Meyers late-November hiring, including headliners Joshua Perry, Pat Elflein, Tyvis Powell and Adolphus Washington.Its a gamble to focus so little energy on recruiting.Grobe said he has visited with two groups of recruits on campus. On a pair of October open dates, Baylor coaches left campus to see high school coaches.Their impact appears minimal.I dont know what theyre doing there, but if you told me they werent recruiting at all, I wouldnt be surprised with what were seeing, the Big 12 assistant said. One less team to go against is just fine with Big 12 coaches.Hulme, the Waco Midway coach, said a few of his players have attended games at McLane Stadium this season on unofficial visits to observe rival teams. Oklahoma State and Kansas have played in Waco; TCU comes to town on Saturday.ddddddddddddTheyll go and watch whoevers playing Baylor, said Hulme, whose school produced five players on the current Baylor roster. Its sort of sad.Hulme took over in February at Midway after coaching at Mansfield (Texas) High School. He visited regularly about recruits at his old school with Baylor running backs coach and passing game coordinator Jeff Lebby, Briles son-in-law. The ex-coachs son, Baylor offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, largely handled communication with coaches and prospects at Midway.Neither Lebby nor Kendal Briles has called or visited since May, Hulme said, despite the presence of quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who is uncommitted and ranked No. 90 in the ESPN Junior 300, and several other Midway players in whom Baylor showed initial interest.Other Texas high school coaches declined to comment about Baylor.I dont want to be a part of that situation, one coach said.Mike Overton, coach at Horn High School in Mesquite, Texas, east of Dallas, said Baylor coaches have not visited in several months. Hes heard of similar experiences at other area high schools.Before the apparent recruiting shutdown, the Bears were not actively recruiting any of his 2017 prospects, Overton said, but Art Briles several times did visit Horn QB Chris Robison, an early pledge to Oklahoma.Its disappointing for them, Hulme said. Its disappointing for me. Its disappointing for our program. I dont know whats going to happen when the season is over. ... Theyre just going to be behind every day.How far behind?Before Briles firing, Baylor counted six commitments, having already lost pledges from outside linebacker Baron Browning, No. 29 in the ESPN 300, and receiver Jhamon Ausbon, ranked 130th overall and now committed to LSU.Since then, gone from Baylors pledge list are ESPN 300 tight end Kedrick James to Alabama, defensive tackle Jayden Peevy to Texas A&M, safety Donovan Stiner to Houston, receiver Hezekiah Jones, ranked No. 112, to A&M and the most significant blow, Kellen Mond of the IMG Academy in Florida, ranked 58th and the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback nationally, to A&M. Four-star running back Eno Benjamin of Wylie, Texas, offered a scholarship by the Bears, tweeted in May that he was so glad he made the right choice and decided not to pursue Baylor.Benjamin pledged to Iowa in April, but has since decommitted. Its safe to assume he wont end up in Waco.The two remaining commitments came from defensive backs Jalen Pitre of Stafford, Texas, and Noah Daniels of League City, Texas. Daniels committed in July but recently received offers, he said, from Oklahoma State and TCU.Daniels said he plans to take official visits to all three schools.Im with Baylor, Daniels said, and I want to wait it out. But if something happens, Im open.He said he talks regularly with cornerbacks coach Carlton Buckels, a shred of evidence that Baylor hasnt faded entirely from this recruiting cycle. Daniels said Buckels tells him often how much the Bears like him and that hell fit well at the school.As for the future at Baylor, Daniels said, the coach doesnt really address it.How could he? Recruiting shapes the future. And for now, uncertainty and a lack of direction or progress define the recruiting efforts at Baylor. ' ' '